Variable Roller Position for Sheet Stack Nipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet processing apparatuses face inefficiencies in speeding up the delivery process of sheet stacks due to constant roller opening, leading to wasted time and potential vibration/noise issues when closing rollers to nip thin stacks.
Innovation Solution
A controller adjusts the position of one roller to match the thickness of the sheet stack, allowing for optimized nipping force and reduced vibration/noise by setting the roller's standby position based on stack thickness, ensuring consistent nipping force regardless of stack thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the pair of delivery rollers is kept in a constant open state during post-treatment, then the sheet stack can be processed, but the opening/closing operation takes a certain period of time regardless of sheet stack thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the delivery roller position variable rather than fixed. The controller dynamically adjusts the delivery roller position based on the detected sheet stack thickness, allowing the system to adapt to different processing conditions and reduce unnecessary opening/closing time for thin stacks while maintaining proper contact for thick stacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of delivery roller position from a constant state to a variable state that depends on sheet stack thickness. By detecting thickness and adjusting the roller position accordingly, the system optimizes the opening amount to match the actual processing needs, thereby reducing time loss.
2Productivity
If the pair of delivery rollers is simply speeded up for faster delivery, then the delivery process is accelerated, but the rollers bounce when closing to nip thin stacks, causing vibration and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by detecting the sheet stack thickness in advance and pre-adjusting the delivery roller position before the closing operation. This prevents the harmful bouncing and vibration by ensuring the rollers are already positioned appropriately for the specific stack thickness, eliminating the need for high-speed closing that causes vibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback from thickness detection to control the delivery roller position. The controller receives thickness information and adjusts the roller position accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents vibration and noise by matching the roller configuration to the actual sheet stack conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a sheet processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus, including: an intermediate process tray which receives sheets delivered from the image forming apparatus as a sheet stack; a process unit which applies a predetermined process for the sheet stack received on the intermediate process tray; a pair of rollers which nips and delivers the sheet stack subjected to the predetermined process by the process unit; a stack tray which receives the sheet stack delivered by the pair of rollers; and a controller moves one roller of the pair of rollers to a standby position corresponding to a thickness of the sheet stack to be delivered onto the stack tray.